


Part of the Uniform

by AniDragon



Series: Rachel Shepard [3]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Hair Gel, hair spray
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-20
Updated: 2014-01-20
Packaged: 2018-01-09 11:13:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1145297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AniDragon/pseuds/AniDragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shepard's hair grew out quite a bit during her incarceration, and Garrus isn't sure he approves of military grooming regulations for long hair.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Part of the Uniform

**Author's Note:**

> So while I've never been in the army, I've been in cadets. And as sweet and romantic as all those fics are about Garrus taking down Shepard's hair a the end of the day, and being fascinated by how soft human hair is, they're a little... inaccurate. (Not gonna lie, though, I still love them because fluff, lol)

Garrus sniffed at the products laid out on Shepard’s desk and made a face as the smell of chemicals overwhelmed him. What _was_ this stuff?

He heard a laugh behind him, and turned to find Shepard coming out of the shower in a towel, using a second towel to dry her hair, “It’s called hair gel.”

He looked at her questioningly, “What is it for?”

She dropped the towel that she’d been using to dry her hair onto the back of her desk chair, then grabbed a comb to start going through the tangles, “My hair got a lot longer in the past six months. I don’t need to do much more than tie it up when we’re in the field, but I have to look professional at this war summit, and human military is very strict about personal grooming.”

“So what does this gel do?” He asked, picking up the open container.

“It makes it easier to style, and helps it stay in place,” She put the comb down, then stuck her hand in the jar, taking out a big glob of the gel and shoved it into her hair. He watched in fascination as she styled her hair first into a tight ponytail, and then a bun. She stuck a bunch of pins and clips in so quickly he almost couldn’t follow, then grabbed a thin net from her desk and wrapped it around the bun, keeping any stray hairs from escaping. After that came more pins to hold _that_ in place.

“You might want to stand back a bit,” She said, grabbing a spray can that had been sitting next to the gel.

He did as she said, and watched as she covered her eyes with one hand, then sprayed the contents of the can all over the newly styled hair.

Garrus coughed as the smell of the spray reached him, “Spirits, that stinks.”

She wrinkled her nose, “I’ve gotten used to it. Hair spray, by the way. Like the gel, it helps keep the hair in place, even when I’m moving around a lot.”

“This stuff _can’t_ be good for you.”

“Ha, not really, no,” She agreed, then went down to her closet to get her dress blues, “It’s why I used to keep my hair short on the first Normandy, so I’d have a lot less of it to put in. I like the longer length, but it can be a hassle.”

“Why do humans care so much about how you wear your hair, anyway?”

She shrugged, “It’s a cultural thing, I guess? Keeping your hair up and out of your face is just considered more professional. It’s part of the uniform.”

“And you _do_ , of course, realise that Wrex, Victus, and the Dalatrass aren’t going to know the difference, right?”

She rolled her eyes as she dressed, “It’s not about them. It’s about the mindset that you get in dress blues versus combat BDUs. I’m a lot less likely to punch them when I’m dressed like this.”

“I suppose you’ll need all the help you can get for _that_ ,” He laughed, then came down the stairs and watched her finish buttoning up her uniform. When she finished, he reached over to gentle poke at her hair. It was almost as solid as his own plates, and stank of the chemicals she’d put in, “This stuff washes out, right?”

She chuckled, then kissed him on the cheek, “Of course it does. Now quit fussing, you’ll make me late.”


End file.
